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The Ministry of Economy and Commerce has announced procedures and regulations for licensing the opening of commercial representation offices in Qatar pursuant to Ministerial Decision No. (396) of 2017 on the regulations and procedures for licensing the opening of commercial representation offices. A representative office is one that represents any company or commercial entity whose main headquarters is based outside Qatar.
The initiative comes within the framework of the Ministry’s efforts to develop and improve the business sector through the modernization of laws and procedures that will enhance the contribution of the private sector to the Qatari economy and provide an attractive investment environment for various economic and commercial projects.
Ministerial Decision No. (396) of 2017 on the regulations and procedures for licensing the opening of commercial representation offices offers several advantages including reducing the number of required documents to open a commercial representation office in the country. The ministerial decision also sets a 30-day deadline for the competent authority to decide on the request to open a commercial representation office in Qatar. If the request is rejected, the applicant could appeal to the minister within 30 days. The decision also addressed the renewal of the license, whereby the concerned department was authorized to renew the license after its expiry, and within three months from the date of its termination on the basis of reasons presented by the licensee.
The ministerial decision also specifies cases in which the competent authority may revoke the office’s license and close it. The ministerial decision, which was issued, became effective a day following its publication in the Official Gazette.
Ministerial Decision No. (396) of 2017 outlines the required documents for licensing the opening of a commercial representation office in the country as follows:The decision of the entity seeking to open a representative office in Qatar, including a letter of responsibility for the work carried out by the office, and a document assigning the delegated director of the office. The decision and the delegation document must be authenticated by the embassy of Qatar in the country where the entity’s main headquarters is based or by the country’s embassy in Qatar and certified by the Qatari Foreign Ministry.A certified copy of the commercial registration certificate of the entity’s headquarters abroad including the latest amendments to the basic information pertaining to the entity, including the name of the entity, nationality, partners and commercial activities.
Ministerial Decision number 396 of 2017 stipulates that the competent department at the ministry shall decide on the licensing application and notify the concerned party of its decision within thirty days of its submission in a written memo or by any other means. In case the application is rejected, the decision must be justified. If the deadline passes and the applicant receives no response from the department, the applicant can assume his request was rejected. The applicant can appeal to the minister within 30 days of his request being rejected or not receiving a response. The Minister shall decide on the appeal within 30 days of its submission. The expiry of this period shall be regarded as an implicit rejection of the appeal, and the decision of the Minister shall be final.
The ministerial decision stipulates that a license expires annually and can be renewed once or more than once for a similar period after the required fee has been paid. The renewal application must be submitted accompanied by the documents specified by the competent department at the Ministry at least 30 days before the expiry of the license.
The competent administration may, upon the justified request of the licensee, renew the license after its expiry and within a 3-month period after collecting the renewal fee for the entire period from the date of expiry of the license.
The Ministerial Decision stated that if the application for licensing or renewing the license for the opening of a commercial representation office in Qatar is accepted, the office is registered in the Commercial Register or the commercial registration is renewed. In both cases, the applicant must apply for the registration or renewal of the registration in the Commercial Register.
Article (7) of Ministerial Decision No. (396) of 2017 outlines the duties of a Commercial Representation Office as follows: The Commercial Representation Office shall contact customers to introduce the entity’s products and expand the distribution and marketing of these products. The office may also contact exporters and sellers of raw and semi-manufactured material needed by the entity to facilitate and speed its delivery to the entity. The office shall also report complaints it receives about its products to the entity and seek to overcome difficulties in the distribution of such products.
On the other hand, the ministerial decision prohibits a commercial representation office from conducting business in Qatar as well as importing and exporting products except for commercial samples of the products produced by the entity it represents for promotion purposes. The decision also prohibits the office from promoting products other than those produced by the entity it represents.
The Ministerial Decision also outlines the cases in which the license is revoked and the commercial representation office is close as follows: If the office violates the provisions of the law or the provisions of this decision. If the activity of the entity abroad becomes different from the activity approved by the competent department that licensed the opening of the commercial representation office in Qatar.
The concerned party may submit an appeal to the Minister within 30 days from the date of being informed of the decision to cancel the license. The Minister shall decide on the complaint within 30 days of its submission. The expiration of this period shall be considered as an implicit rejection of the complaint and the minister’s decision shall be final.
The Ministry of Economy and Commerce, in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is responsible for studying applications submitted by the governments of foreign countries to open commercial representation offices in Qatar.